LondonLife – Farewell to the BBC Television Centre…

April 2, 2013

The BBC Television Centre in London’s west closed its doors on Sunday, almost 53 years after it was officially opened on 29th June, 1960. The 14 acre sitein Wood Lane, White City, was sold for £200 million to developers Stanhope Plc. It will be redeveloped into new premises including a hotel, offices, flats, townhouses and a cinema. The Television Centre – the main building of which was affectionately known as the ‘doughnut’ thanks to its circular shape – has hosted some of the UK’s most iconic television shows – from The Two Ronnies to Newsnight, Monty Python’s Flying Circus to Dr Who, Fawlty Towers and Blue Peter. It’s far from the end of the relationship between the site and the BBC. Various arms of the BBC will return to the site in coming years and other plans reportedly include the creation of a ‘virtual attraction’ where visitors can experience the creation of shows like Top Gear and EastEnders. BBC stars including Sir Michael Parkinson, Penelope Keith, Ronnie Corbett, Sir Terry Wogan and Sir David Jason have paid tribute to the building in a TV special, Goodbye Television Centre, broadcast on 22nd March. For more, see www.bbc.co.uk.